The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-11-02
"PrOgress of New England Agri-
culture During the Last
Thirty Years."

Ah'' " 'N"'o
The leading article in the current
number of the Ne,c Highlander and Yale
Recie'c is paper with the above title
by Joseph B. Walker, Esq, of Con-
cord, n. II. 1t opens with review of
Professor Storer's new work, "Agri-
culture in Some of Its Relations with
Chemistry" two volumes, Svo., which
is published in New York by Charles
Scribner's Sons. Mr.. Walker speaks
highly of Professor Storer's work as
more fully meeting the wants of Ameri-
can farmers than any work of similar
character which has preceded it. Mr..
Walker dates new departure in agri-
culture from about 1860 (some say a
little earlier, some little later when
new forces of great and lasting power,
both physical and intellectual, appeared,
which were not only causes of new
prosperity but which may be taken as
marks in the progress of new agri-
cultural development OF these he
classes as first in Importance, if not in
time, the new colleges of agriculture
and mechanic arts. We can hardly
agree with Mr.. Walker in his estimate
of their important results to agri-
culture, and the following sentence in
Mr.. Walkers article would seem in
some measure to indicate his estimate
as unwarranted: 1.-THE country needed
them, but was not then ready to re-
cejve them. They were obliged, there
fore, to struggle into active being as
best they could. There were no agri-
cultural professors prepared to man
them and direct their work; there
were no textbooks for the use of their
students; there was no well-defned
conception on the part of any one of
the precise products they were ex-
pected to yield. The two necessities
first mentioned have been measurablv
met. The last, as yet but imperfectly
determined, is assuming a shape more
and more definite year by year." We
submit that the event named, in the
light of Mr.. Walkers very clear and
just description of its state and condi-
ton, is not entitled to be considered
and classed as the great primary cause
of any particular advancement in
American agriculture. He classes the
other causes as follows: Second. the
boards of agriculture; third, the Pat
rons of Husbandry; fourth, agricultural
fairs. These he classes as the intellec-
tual forces, after which he gives some
OF the physical causes, coming in the
shape of mechanical appliances, which
he estimates as follows: First, the
mowing-machine; second, the steel or
chilled-iron pillow; third, the improved
harrow; fourth, wheel horse-rakes;
fifth, the hay-tedder; sixth, the manure
spreader. We incline to the belief
that Mr.. Walker has the cart before
the horse; that the practical and me-
chanical have been the more powerful
promoting causes in the improvement
of agriculture and that they are not,
and never have been, from the time of
their introduction, justly liable to such
an estimate as Mr.. Walker so correctly
gave of the inefliciency of the agri-
cultural colleges in the sentence given
above. Following are tables showing
the depopulation of New England
towns during the last three decades, in
which Vermont in the last shows
larger per cent of towns losing (fifty-
nine per cent? than any other of the
states. This may be due in a large
measure no doubt TO those Vermont
ers who seem so anxious to depopulate
our state by schemes to induce emigra-
ton in colonies, offering such glowing
inducements to settle in some western
territory, I" the land of grass, grain and
gold" Mr.. Walker is pleasant writer,
as he is speaker also, and his article
will repay perusal, though we thin
the average even of the progressive
farmers will not be deeply edited with
the Latin quotation with which he
closes his article.